Shorter 7-10 night trips to South Africa can either focus on a good length safari, or can skip the safari and focus on the Cape region. Combinations are possible, but one of the two components would likely be a little bit too rushed.

5-9 nights 

Adding a few extra nights means that a safari and Cape combination can be undertaken more comfortably, usually including two or three safari locations, plus time in Cape Town, maybe extending to the Whale Coast and the Cape Winelands.

9-14 nights 

In longer trips, you may add further locations within South Africa, or combine with the safari areas of Botswana, Zambia or Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls, the deserts of Namibia or the tropical beaches of Mozambique. Over three weeks and you might also combine with East Africa.

15-50 nights 

Tanzania

Set on the East Coast of Africa, Tanzania is a truly remarkable place, the richest and most diverse safari country, with far more than its fair share of Africa’s crown jewels, including Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar.

This is the place to head if you are looking for a truly diverse African experience, usually an overland journey, with equal parts of epic wildlife, majestic volcanic scenery, authentic tribespeople, farms, villages and towns.

It’s also top of the list if you want to combine safari and tropical beaches.

In all honesty, Tanzania alone is worth several trips.

Trips from USD 4500

Kenya

Also on the East Coast of Africa, Kenya is the second most visited safari country on the continent, a place of great diversity, with popular reserves including the Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo and Samburu, as well as some much more remote wilderness areas and an extensive tropical coastline.

Unfortunately, the better known reserves in Kenya can get very busy in core areas, so we need to tread carefully to deliver a quality safari.

If you are looking towards the upper end of the budget range, then trips can be remote and fabulous. But if you are looking for value, you may be better off looking at Tanzania or countries further south. 

Trips from USD 5000

Botswana

Moving to the south of the continent, Botswana is widely considered to offer the highest quality safari in Africa.

The experience is not as diverse as Tanzania, but the remoteness and purity of the bush experience is unsurpassed.

If you are looking for either an easy vacation or a deeply immersive wilderness experience, this is the place. We just need to be careful about the very high prices during the Jun-Oct dry season.

Botswana is great in combination with Victoria Falls, the Cape or the tropical beaches of Mozambique.

Trips from USD 6000

Our safari experts have incredible 
first-hand knowledge and an average
of 12 years experience building great 
trips.

Expertise and experience

Since 1999, we have created over a million sample  trips and helped over 120,000 guests fall in love with  safari Africa.

A proud history

Over the years we have polished our operation to be super-reliable. Arranging your trip should be almost as much fun  as going on safari. 

Seamless and fun

Your trip should cost no more than if 
you had booked all the components directly. You effectively get our services for free.

Delivering value

Every single trip that we build is unique. Your trip will be precisely tailored to meet the exact requirements of everyone in your group.

Supremely tailor-made

The first safari company on the internet, we helped to shape the modern safari and we continue to be the prime innovators in our field.

Original innovators

Tell us your whatever you know about your ideal trip. Whether you're drawn to specific wildlife, particular regions, or have preferences about the style of accommodation, the more we understand, the better we can help you to craft the perfect experience.

Share your ideas

South Africa

South Africa is by far the most popular location for safari. It is a vast and incredibly diverse country, with far more highlights than could ever be included in a single trip.

The primary trip shape is a combination of safari in Kruger, with time in Cape Town, the Whale Coast and the Cape Winelands.

There is a huge choice of safari accommodation, right across the price spectrum, including some of the best lower cost options in Africa, so this is often the place to head on a lower budget.

However, South Africa is a much more developed country than those further north and the safari experience can feel significantly less pure and wild.

Trips from USD 3500

Zimbabwe

Also in the southern part of Africa, Zimbabwe is best known for the Victoria Falls, but also offers some of the most earthy, authentic, heart-pumping safari on the continent.

If you are looking for a short safari of 3-5 nights, then Hwange has some great value options.

Otherwise, Zimbabwe is a relatively high-priced location, which appeals most to experienced Africa travellers, who appreciate the extremely high levels of safari guiding.

The walking safari here can be truly extraordinary, with deliberate approaches onto elephants and lions. 

Trips from USD 4500

Zambia

Set in southcentral Africa, Zambia is a delightful backwater, also best known for the Victoria Falls, but with a handful of superb safari reserves.

The camps here have a reputation for intimacy, authenticity and a pleasantly homespun feel, many with a marked leaning towards walking safari, which is always a good sign.

Zambia is a mid-to-high price safari environment, which tends to appeal most to experienced safari travellers in search of new frontiers and first timers who are specifically looking for somewhere unusual for their safari. 

Trips from USD 5000

The June to September period is the cool dry winter in the main safari areas, the best time for wildlife viewing, but with cool nights. Down in the Cape, this period represents Winter, which is relatively mild, but with adverse weather tending to come in bursts. 

Jun-Sep 

This is a transition period in the safari areas, with strong wildlife, but with conditions becoming uncomfortably warm in advance of the first rains. Down in the Cape, this period represents Spring, which is generally pleasant, with occasional prolonged showers. 

Oct-Nov 

During December to March, the safari areas experience their hot wet Summer, which is generally considered to be the most challenging time for wildlife viewing. Down in the Cape, this period represents the long dry Summer, which is warm but lovely.

Dec-Mar 

April to May is a transition period in the safari areas, with weather conditions and wildlife viewing both improving fast. Down in the Cape, this period represents Fall, which is generally pleasant, with occasional prolonged showers and overcast skies.

Apr-May 

Your dedicated safari specialist will work with you to build a selection of sample trips. We'll discuss seasonality, wildlife movements, logistics, lodge options, activity levels, whatever is necessary. And we will keep on refining until we are all confident that we have reached the perfect trip.

Crafting your trip

Everything is arranged. All you need to do is turn up. You probably won’t even need to show your paperwork, you will simply glide from one group of friendly and efficient local hosts to the next. And our support team remains on hand throughout, leaving you free to focus entirely on the extraordinary experiences ahead.

Travel with confidence

Many of us here at ATR have travelled extensively with our own kids, so we know for a fact that safari is great for families.

This is the kind of trip that guarantees to generate memories that you will share for the rest of your lives.

However, there are significant health issues to consider in most safari areas, so we need to proceed with caution.

Most dry season safari is ideal for kids of 12 years and older, eminently feasible for kids 8-11 years and potentially viable from 6-7 years old. If your kids are 0-5 years, then it’s probably best to stick to the non-malarial areas of the Cape, then progressing up into Namibia as they get older.

Family safari 

Safari is an inherently romantic experience that can be endlessly tailored to suit you.

We have been helping guests to build awesome honeymoons for many years. We have intimate knowledge of some of the wildest and most romantic places in the world.

Perhaps the most important piece of advice is to be yourselves. Please don’t feel it is necessary to fit into the usual romantic tropes if they’re not for you. Just focus on having a great trip.

We very much understand the importance of these trips, we know that your honeymoon needs to really hit the heights and be a truly life-punctuating experience.

Honeymoon safari 

On safari, luxury means different things to different people.

The most conventional meaning is that the accommodations are extremely comfortable, with elevated levels of hospitality. This is relatively easy to deliver, there are lots of luxury lodges.

However, simply inserting more luxurious lodges into your trip is no guarantee of a better safari. In fact, the opposite can be true.

For us, the hallmarks of a truly high quality safari are a suitably slow pace, wonderful remote locations, superb safari guiding, exclusive and intense wildlife interaction, precisely tailored experiences and considered attention to detail. We can do that.

Luxury safari 

Safari in South Africa ranges from surprisingly good value to extremely pricey. You can expect to spend around USD 300 to 3500 per person per night.

We are more than happy to work across this range of prices. The only important thing is that we help you find the very best safari to suit your budget.

The two dominant price factors are the length of time that you spend on safari and the specific lodges that you choose to include in your trip. Deploying more time in town, rural and beach locations can bring the total cost down dramatically.

If you have a higher budget, we will help you determine which camps do actually deliver elevated levels of service and experience. We will also highlight other subtle ways in which your trip can be raised to another level, including the use of whole camp bookings, private guides and vehicles, helicopter explorations of remote areas etc.

If you have a medium budget, the best way to keep a lid on costs is to carefully choose lower-cost lodges.  You can also reduce the number of core safari nights and deploy time in more cost-effective beach, town and rural locations. We will help you understand where to trim and where to splash in order to achieve the best overall experience.

If you have a lower budget, then we can always look at a self-drive trip in the Cape, which can be considerably lower cost, although the safari elements are not so truly wild down there.

"We just returned from a weeks safari organized  organized   organized by ATR and have nothing but positive reviews!"

Sossusvlei

Set in the southwest of Namibia, Sossusvlei is home to the enormous and iconic orange dunes of the Namib Desert, a truly remarkable combination of desert landscapes.

Guest accommodation is in around twenty lodges of various levels, offering a good range of activities including desert explorations, quad-biking, ballooning and scenic flights.

Almost all first time visits to Namibia include the Sossusvlei area, this is one of those places that are so well known that they simply demand to be ticked off the list. This naturally means the area can get rather busy during peak seasons, but it’s still fun.

Lodges USD 200-2500 pppn 

Etosha

Etosha National Park is the best known and richest wildlife area in Namibia, renowned for intense animal scenes around its many waterholes. However, it is undoubtedly the most disappointing of Africa’s most famous reserves.

Unfortunately the national park itself is primarily set up for self-drivers and the core areas get seriously and unpleasantly busy. This traffic is serviced by three enormous government restcamps, plus a range of larger lodges outside the main gates.

Etosha tends to feature in most self-drive trips, since it is so centrally located on northern routes. High quality flying trips are usually best advised to avoid Etosha completely.

Lodges USD 100-2750 pppn 

Damaraland North 

Set 230km north of Nairobi, Samburu is an arid and particularly atmospheric safari area, set alongside a magical perennial river that brings life to the desert year round. It is a magical place and home to some very interesting animals, including gerenuks, Grevy’s zebras and reticulated giraffes.

Guest accommodation is in around twenty lodges. Those inside the park tend to be large and commercial, whilst the better quality options are situated in large private conservancies round about, from where you can raid into the main reserve during the quiet hours around lunchtime.

Samburu is easily reached by air from Nairobi and there are usually direct connections to the Maasai Mara, making this a popular triangle. It is also a great starting point for the wilds further north notably in the Mathew’s Range.

Lodges USD 400-2500 pppn 

Johannesburg is the major flight hub for Southern Africa, with direct connections from USA, South America, Europe, Asia and Australasia. Cape Town also has a good number of direct flights. Both cities offer connections throughout Africa.

Easy access 

South Africa contains dozens of safari locations. It is dominated by Kruger, the most popular safari area in Africa, supported by diverse options including Waterberg, Tswalu and Phinda. Some of these locations are non-malarial, suitable for children and seniors.

Safari options

As well as the core safari, trips to South Africa can include an extremely diverse range of locations and experiences, including fascinating cities, gorgeous rural areas, mountain ranges, tribal homelands and some awesome beaches. 

Diverse experiences

The quality of accommodation, service and food in South Africa is truly world class. There is no need for you to lower your expectations because this is Africa. Quite the converse. You can expect the very best, often at a fraction of the price back home. 

Top hospitality

Set within a mountainous national park, Cape Town is a fabulous place, even for people who hate cities. As well as the history, there are great hiking trails, beautiful beaches and even penguin colonies.

Cape Town 

Located a couple hours by road from the city, Cape Winelands is a fabulous area of mountains and fertile valleys, with superb wineries, pretty villages and truly world-class eateries at diner prices.

Cape Winelands 

The coastline to the east of Cape Town is particularly renowned for its whales. It is centred on the town of Hermanus, but the coastal nature reserve of De Hoop is our favourite.

Whale Coast 

Kruger

Set in the northeast of South Africa, Kruger is a vast conservation area, easily the most popular safari destination on the continent, renowned for easy wildlife viewing and great predator photography.

Guest accommodation is in around 150 lodges, most of which are extremely comfortable and reliable, as well as covering an unusually wide range of price levels.

The main downside for Kruger is that the prime Jun-Oct safari season coincides with Winter in the Cape, with which it is most commonly combined, which often  leads us towards the shoulder seasons. It is also worth pointing out that the lodge density here is over 200 times greater than that in the key Botswana safari areas, meaning that some people may feel that it lacks that sense of infinite wilderness.

Lodges USD 350-3500 pppn 

Tswalu 

Set in the northwest of South Africa, Tswalu is the largest private reserve in the country, a non-malarial area, with awesome Kalahari landscapes and a rich range of wildlife, notably including meerkats, aardvarks and pangolins.

Guest accommodation is in just two very high quality lodges, which offer a remarkably diverse range of activities, notably including horse-back safari and elegant sleep-outs.

The Tswali area is almost always accessed by shared charter flights direct from Johannesburg and Cape Town, with most guests deploying at least a few nights in the latter.

Although Tswalu is wonderful and would surely be enjoyed by almost everyone, it does have the twin disadvantages of not having any elephants and being rather pricey.

Lodges USD 1500-2750 pppn 

Waterberg Mountains 

Set in the north of South Africa, the non-malarial Waterberg Mountains area contains several interesting wildlife reserves, with some superb scenery and relatively easy wildlife viewing.

Guest accommodation is in around 25 decent quality lodges, most of which are around 25% lower cost than their equivalents in Kruger. 

A wide range of activities is available in the various reserves, including walking safari, horse-back safari. motorboat safari and even golf.

To be honest, this Waterberg area is home to a real hodge-podge of safari operators, a good number of which are rather lame. But there are perhaps a half dozen options that we really like.

Lodges USD 350-1750 pppn 

Madikwe 

Set in the northwest of South Africa, Madikwe is one of the largest non-malarial safari reserves in Africa. At 750 square kilometres it's around 4% the size of Kruger, a fully fenced area which was once farmland, but which is now rehabilitated and restocked with a full range of wildlife.

Guest accommodation is in around 20 lodges, some of which are unusually well-priced.

We find it hard to be too enthusiastic about Madikwe. There are some good lodges here, but the landscapes can be a little bland and the continued presence of self-drive vehicles is a big negative.

However, it can be the best answer for groups with younger children or seniors, or during the Oct-Feb season, when it is a lot less rainy than Kruger.

Lodges USD 500-2000 pppn

Phinda Mkhuze 

Set in KwaZulu Natal, the Phinda Mkhuze area contains a handful of private wildlife reserves.

Phinda itself is the best known and most upmarket option, containing pretty and diverse landscapes, a full range of wildlife, notably including cheetahs and rhinos. Guest accommodation is in a handful of lodges, offering an unusually wide range of activities, including beach options.

If you are planning a self-drive exploration of Natal, then Phinda would be a nice upmarket inclusion. For most other people, it is something of a distraction. However, if you are a family group with kids and you fancy being based at a single upmarket location for maybe a whole week, then this really can work.

Lodges USD 400-2250 pppn 

Kwandwe 

Set in the Eastern Cape, Kwandwe is the highest quality wildlife reserve in the whole of the Cape region.

At 200 square kilometres, it is a relatively small and fully fenced area, but contains a full range of safari wildlife including lions, elephants and rhinos. Guest accommodation is in a handful of very high quality lodges, offering a good range of expertly-guided safari activities.

The safari reserves of the Eastern Cape are definitely less wild than those further north on the continent, they simply aren’t big enough or wild enough to deliver a top level safari experience. However, if you are planning a self-drive out from Cape Town, they can represent a really interesting inclusion.

Another considerable upside is that the seasonality here is far better matched to Cape Town, which can push them ahead of Kruger during the Dec-Mar season.

Lodges USD 600-900 pppn 

Set within a mountainous national park, Cape Town is a fabulous place, even for people who hate cities. As well as the history, there are great hiking trails, beautiful beaches and even penguin colonies.

Cape Town 

If you are planning a long self-drive, then heading up the Caprivi Strip to end at the Victoria Falls can be a lot of fun. Flying connections are more complicated.

Victoria Falls 

People often want to combine the deserts of Namibia with the lush wetlands of Okavango. However, three nights here usually cost more than a two week self-drive in Namibia.

Okavango Delta 

The Victoria Falls area serves as a natural  hub for the safari areas of Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, but can also be included in a trip to South Africa, with convenient flight connections.

Victoria Falls 

Botswana is widely considered to be the premium safari location in Africa, centred on the magnificent Okavango Delta. This can easily be combined into a South Africa trip, but beware the dry season prices.

Okavango Delta 

If you would like to combine tropical beaches into a South Africa trip, then Mozambique is a really strong option, with direct flight connections between Johannesburg and Bazaruto.

Bazaruto

If you are looking for a lower cost safari trip, then South Africa and Namibia are the stand-out countries. A combination of easier logistics and great competition ensures that there is an unusually wide range of lodge options right across the price spectrum.

Lower cost 

South Africa and Namibia are the only two countries in Africa where we recommend self-drive, which is extremely economical. If you are confident to drive on the left side of the road, then you should find the roads easier, quieter and much more fun than back home.

Self-drive